TTIC#22 ~ Bella's Birthday!

***edit: ok, so I scheduled this to post at 9PM today - ugh... DOOFUS alert!***

Welcome to Twilight Tuesday! Can you believe we are up to #22? Phew! This week's challenge comes to us from the molto bella e di talento (super lovely and talented!) Rebecca:


New Moon opens with Bella's 18th birthday and Alice in full party mode. Most people dread turning 30 or 40, but Bella dreaded turning 18 - mostly since that meant she was "older" than Edward. For the Cullens, they were excited - the last birthday they had ever "celebrated" was Emmett's many decades earlier. For the creative challenge part - create a birthday themed item - you're welcome to draw inspiration from the party or just go with "birthday". For the comment part - tell us if you've ever given or been the recipient of a surprise party or let me know if there was a birthday you dreaded. Or simply just let us know what your favorite birthday gift was.


Remember the scene? (Thanks for providing it, Rebecca - it's a perfect visual!!)

We were pulling up to the house now. Bright light shined from every window on the first two floors. A long line of glowing Japanese lanterns hung from the porch eaves, reflecting a soft radiance on the huge cedars that surrounded the house. Big bowls of flowers - pink roses - lined the wide stairs up to the front doors.

They were all waiting in the huge white living room; when I walked through the door, they greeted me with a loud chorus of "Happy Birthday, Bella!" while I blushed and looked down. Alice, I assumed, had covered every flat surface with pink candles and dozens of crystal bowls filled with hundreds of roses. There was a table with a white cloth draped over it next to Edward's grand piano, holding a pink birthday cake, more roses, a stack of glass plates and a small pile of silver-wrapped presents.

It was a hundred times worse than I'd imagined. ~New Moon

And, yes - turning 30 was physically painful... No sympathy for Bells, there! :)

Twilight Tuesday #21 ~ Renee Dwyer (Bella's Mom)

This week's challenge comes from magnificent Margie, and she has us studying Bella's mom, Renee Dwyer. In Margie's words: TTIC#21 - Renee, A dedication to the Mommy's in our lives...

Comment Portion: What do you care about the most about the "Mommy(s)" in your life (Moms, Sisters, Daughters, etc.) and/or do you have a similar relationship to someone like Bella and her Mom's relationship?

Craft Portion: Create a Twilight project dedicate to The Mom in your life



I came up with this card... for some reason, I imagine Renee wearing a yellow flowered sundress - did I read this, or is my imagination running amok again? My mom is nothing like Renee, but I love her and this is a card I would gladly send to her just to say "hey". :)

Don't forget to visit Twilight Tuesday to check out March's sketch challenge and Blog Candy! And, of course, you will want to check out the rest of the Design Team's projects! That goes without saying! --> While you're at it, wish the lovely Eve a belated Happy Birthday!! <--

Eve - http://thisisbliss838.blogspot.com/

Dani - http://countyourbeautifulblessings.blogspot.com/

Jen - http://deconstructingjen.com/

Julie - http://www.starsfallcreations.com/

Margie - http://ohbumbleismemargie.blogspot.com/

Rebecca - http://bellacarta.typepad.com/

Tonya - http://www.stamphappens.com/

Twilight Monday? #19 ~ Villains...

OOOH!  And Twilight has some good ones!  This (ahem, LAST) week's challenge came from Tonya, via Julie:

Enough with the mushy theme from last week…this week’s theme is the villains of the Twilight world!   {Boo!  Hiss!}  The very clever Tonya came up with this idea, which should really get you to put your thinking caps on.

The creative part of the challenge is to create a project inspired by one (or more) of the villains from the books.  For the comment portion of the challenge, tell us a bit about your reaction to the villains in the stories:  do you enjoy any of them?  Do any of them freak you right out?  Or are they just too fantastic for you to even fear?  Whatever you think,  just tell us about it!

 I chose James and Victoria from the first book.    James is just deliciously bad.  And, Vicki, well, she's not much better - but you can't fault a girl for falling for the bad boy, um, vampire, now can you?  I was totally on the edge of my seat when Jimbo was tracking Bells, and cursing him the whole time.  Looking back - he was a really good (bad) literary villain.  He was written with cunning and intensity - and darn it if that movie didn't make him hot, too!  Yep - the total package.   Although, I will say, I prefer my bad boys to be slightly more, ah, 'metro', shall we say.  J & V are definitely a little rough from living mainly in the wilderness.  So my projects capture the above vibes:  danger, intensity and rough edges.  LOL 

Spring Fling Stamp Camp!!

Ok - I cave to pressure! It has been a while, and I aim to please, so I have scheduled my next Stamp Camp for Saturday, March 14th at 10am until... well, whenever we finish! I currently have 5 projects and limited space, so if you are interested in the details - email me NOW! ***Incentives for quick RSVPs and guests!!*** See you there! :)

*ridiculously cute photo from www.madwomandaily.com*

Are you ready? I mean, REALLY ready for this?

***If you are looking for Twilight Tuesday Inspiration Challenges... they immediately follow this post!***

A Stampinsanity project post that has nothing to do with Twilight... :) Catch your breath - head between the knees if necessary... Better? I decided to prove that I have indeed done other things over the last 20-plus weeks since Tonya and I began this crazy trading-Twilight-projects-cum-TTIC challenge. I remember my first Twiject - I made Tonya a card with little fang/bite marks. I don't think I was even finished reading Twilight at that time! Going through my workspace, it was amazing (nay, shocking!) to find how many Twiject/projects I have done! What I have NOT done in these 20ish weeks is any sort of scrapbooking of my family (I am still currently about 7 years behind on my 7 year old's life albums...) Ugh... that's my mission - to get some of these gazillion photos and memories into albums. Oh yeah - and to get birthday and holiday cards out TIMELY!! My dh actually asked me if he should start buying cards (*gasp*) and sending them himself, after he reminded me that he didn't get one for Christmas. And that his father's birthday was that very day, which was also his birthday, (I know - no excuse for forgetting that one. You'd think...) for which I DID have this card made for. Embarassingly simple, but effective! Hey, in my defense, I didn't think he cared about my cards! I was wrong - collective "awwww"... bravo! I knew I could count on you for some faux-empathy. :)

Oh yeah, the other thing I have done in these same 20ish weeks... is read over 35 books! Yes, this includes re-reading a couple of series book, but still... That is valuable stampin' time, and I am torn between two loves (lovers? I should write a song about that...) when I have that precious, precious down time. So the long and short of it is this: I have to get back on my Stampin' Up horse ~ my customers are clamoring for my next Stamp Camp, and I have sorely neglected them!! Bad demonstrator! Bad upline! Bad, bad, bad! On that note - I am retiring to my comfy bed, with my way too pristine SU catalog and will begin that Spring Fling prep. :) Oh well - until Lost comes on... hopefully it won't suck as bad as it did last week! Gawd...

Until next time - probably on TTIC Tuesday... :)

 

****UPDATE:  Lost most definitely did NOT suck this week!!  Awesome!****

TTIC#18 ~ Twilight Valentines

Happy Tuesday, Everyone! This week's timely challenge comes from the fabulous Julie... Read on:

Hello everyone — hopefully you are in a mushy Valentine mood — ’cause that’s our challenge theme for today!

The creative part of the challenge is to make a Valentine that could be given to one character from another in the Twilight world. With all of those couples, there should be enough to inspire us! Just to be clear — as much as many of us might want to gift Rob with multiple mushy Valentines — this particular challenge is a Twilight character thing rather than a Rob thing.

For the comment portion of the challenge — talk a bit about the couples in the Twilight world. Which couple’s story you might relate to or admire, which couple might not work for you (hey, imprinting on a baby theme - I’m looking at you!). Anything you like. I would bet that a lot of us love the stories because of the romantic elements — just elaborate on that a bit, and tell us what parts of that appealed to you.

So, here is my Valentine for Edward from Bella. I know, I know... sheesh! She makes his life a beautiful thing, and he is always looking for ways to tell her. That's where I was headed with this card - got lost along the way and ended up in my favorite destination: Toomuchville, deep in the heart of Dumdum County. I may try and do something to backdrop the vellum heart - I just love that paper and wanted to save the brocade design. Oh well. I'll see what I can do with it and get back to you! (See those felt hearts? From Dani!! :)) Plus, this card was ridiculously difficult to photograph and edit. The Purely Pomegranate paper with the Real Red "pop" looks much better than it photographed.

For the record: Even though I am Team Jake, I choose to block out the whole baby imprinting thing, just like I prefer to ignore that Renesmee (aka: freaky baby) exsists! lol Having said that, I love Carlisle and Esme's relationship - from what we see it is very pure, loving and respectful. A healthy love affair. And sweet - we are talking about Valentine's Day here, aren't we? Sweet is the flavor of the day!

***Don't forget to visit the Twilight Tuesday Blog and Forum for blog candy, lively discussions and instructions for linking your submissions to the group!***

Eve - http://thisisbliss838.blogspot.com/
Dani - http://countyourbeautifulblessings.blogspot.com/
Jen - http://deconstructingjen.com/
Julie - http://www.starsfallcreations.com/
Margie - http://ohbumbleismemargie.blogspot.com/
Rebecca - http://bellacarta.typepad.com/
Tonya - http://www.stamphappens.com

Twilight Tuesday #17 ~ Jacob Black!

Yep! It is finally my turn to issue the challenge! Here goes...

Our theme this week is: Jacob Black!

I like Jake. No secret there. And it is clear where the lines are drawn in the sand, so to speak, in Twilightville! Having said that, I invite everyone to objectively think about the character, Bella's trusted friend, her strength in her weakest hours, her light through her darkest times and her humor on a seemingly humorless day. Theirs is a special friendship. My challenge to you is to capture the essence of the special bond in a project of your choosing.

***"Jacob was simply a perpetually happy person, and he carried that happiness with him like an aura, sharing it with whoever was near him. Like an earthbound sun, whenever someone was within his gravitational pull, Jacob warmed them. It was natural, a part of who he was. No wonder I was so eager to see him." ~Bella, New Moon.***

Comment Portion: Explain your version of the relationship between he and Bella, or he and the other Quileutes... basically, the essence of Jake. What is the dynamic that draws you in or *GASP* deters you from him. ***note: I don't intend for this to be a TJ vs TE debate! This is NOT about Edward!*** Do you know someone who is as special as he is to Bella? Does the rebuildng of a car remind you of something or someone? Did someone special teach you to drive (a motorcycle?), or save your life??? et al... Take this any way you want. I just want to see a little puppy love and will abuse my executive power on this one to get it!!!

So... Here is my Jacob-is-an-awesome-friend card. Bella is blessed, truly and utterly blessed, to have a devoted friend like him. He is special.

PS ~ Fear not, Twilighters, it is a common misconception that you must be a card carrying member of Team Jacob to enjoy this character! This is not so. I promise. :)

Don't forget to visit Twilight Tuesday for Blog Candy and a lively Message Board!

Other Design Team submissions:

Eve - http://thisisbliss838.blogspot.com/
Dani - http://countyourbeautifulblessings.blogspot.com/
Jen - http://deconstructingjen.com/
Julie - http://www.starsfallcreations.com/
Margie - http://ohbumbleismemargie.blogspot.com/
Rebecca - http://bellacarta.typepad.com/
Tonya - http://www.stamphappens.com/